Ten Mile Lake Park
Park overview
Ten Mile Lake is a very popular recreational destination for local residents and visitors. It offers a large picnic area, three sandy beaches, a boat launch, and great fishing not to mention attractive, treed campsites, showers and flush toilets.
A 2 km nature trail to a large beaver pond, through forest and along an abandoned rail road is very rewarding to hike. In the winter the park’s trails are transformed into approximately 10 km of cross country ski trails.
Advisories
Dates of operation
Open to public access year-round
Current status:Open to public access
- Facility type
- Vehicle-accessible camping
- Number of campsites
- Reservable frontcountry sites: 61
- Vehicle-accessible sites: 61
- Main camping season dates
- 2023: May 12 to September 30
- Reservable dates
- 2023: May 15 to September 3
- Winter note
- Campground gates are closed during the off-season. The day-use area and trails are accessible year-round.
- Facility type
- Picnic areas
- Number of campsites
- Reservable frontcountry sites: 1
- Main operating season dates
- 2023: May 15 to September 15
- 2024: May 12 to September 30
- Reservable dates
- 2023: May 15 to September 14
- 2024: May 15 to September 29
- Winter note
- Campground gates are closed during the off-season. The day-use area and trails are accessible year-round.
- Facility type
- Vehicle-accessible camping
- Number of campsites
- Vehicle-accessible sites: 46
- Main camping season dates
- 2023: May 12 to September 30
- Winter note
- Campground gates are closed during the off-season. The day-use area and trails are accessible year-round.
Safety info
- ORVs are prohibited in this park. ORVs include ATVs, off-road motorcycles, snowmobiles and side-by-sides.
Camping
- Total number of campsites
- Total reservable frontcountry sites: 61
- Total vehicle-accessible sites: 108
All campsite reservations must be made the BC Parks reservations system. When reservations are not available all campsites function as first-come, first-served.
Campsite Reservations
Campsite reservations are accepted and first-come, first-served sites are also available.
Group Picnic Shelter Reservations
Group picnic shelter reservations are accepted for the picnic shelter through the BC Parks reservations system.
This park offers vehicle-accessible campsites. There are two large campground areas in the park, known as Lakeside and Touring. Campsite reservations are accepted at the Lakeside Campground and first-come, first-served sites are also available.
The Lakeside campground consists of 60 sites, 6 of which are double sites. The Touring campground consists of 46 sites. There are a variety of shaded, treed, and open sites and extra parking available at each campground.
The gate to the park is locked between 11:00pm and 7:00am. Only registered campers are allowed in the campground after 11:00pm and quiet time is between 10:00pm and 7:00am.
Lakeside Campground Fee
Touring Campground Fee
Long stay camping
Touring Campground (Sites 1–46). Full season. A minimum of 4 consecutive weeks must be booked. Please contact the Park Operator for information and to book one of these sites.
Information on other parks participating in this program, or a link to the Long Stay Policy document, is available on the Frontcountry Camping Policies and Fees webpage.
Facilities
Accessibility information is available for these areas of the park:
This park has a day-use/picnic area. Picnic tables, fire pits, pit toilets, a covered shelter, three long sandy beaches and change-houses are all located at the day-use area. There are also picnic tables and a wood stove in the shelter. Firewood is not provided in the day-use area so people need to bring their own. Group picnicking is open from May 15 to September 30 and reservations are available for the picnic shelter.
Activities
Ten kilometres of hiking trails are a popular way for the whole family to enjoy the park. Many of these trails double as cross-country ski trails during the winter.
A self-guiding nature trail begins in the day-use parking lot opposite the picnic shelter. View a beaver lodge and a series of beaver dams. Note the nest boxes and platforms around the pond built by Ducks Unlimited.
For your own safety and the preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure.
Easy access to lake, fishing via boat. Shore casting possible. The best time to fish for the rainbow found in the lake is either in early spring or most evenings throughout the summer. There are ice fishing opportunities in this park. Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence.
There is approximately 10km of hiking trails with regulations for bikers. Hikers have right-of-way. Bicycles must keep to roadways and trails. Helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
For details on e-biking within Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park, see the e-biking section below.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are permitted on signed or designated trails within Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park, provided they meet the definitions and criteria for e-bike use as outlined in the BC Parks cycling guidelines.
There are approximately 10 km of cross-country ski trails set in the winter.
There are also snowshoeing opportunities at this park and the lake freezes over in the winter allowing for ice skating. The road into the park is ploughed to the first parking lot.
There are ice fishing opportunities in this park. Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence.
Maps and location
This park is located approximately 12km north of Quesnel on Highway #97.
Park and activity maps
Learn more about this park
Park details
- Date established: February 5, 1962
- Size: 343 hectares
Park contact
This park proudly operated by:
Silvertip Park Services Ltd.
parkinquiries@telus.net
250 320-9305
Nature and culture
- History: Ten Mile Lake Park was established in 1962 as a recreational destination for residents of Quesnel, as well as travellers on the Cariboo Highway. The name of the park comes from the milepost on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway that stood here in the early 1900s. There is still evidence of the abandoned rail grade in the park; the tracks had to be relocated because of difficulties in crossing the Cottonwood River north of the park.
- Cultural Heritage: The city of Quesnel was established as a supply centre during the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860s. It was originally much smaller than nearby Barkerville, which is now preserved as a Historic Town.
- Conservation: Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park is situated within the Fraser Basin, an irregular shaped depression of gently rolling hills and shallow lakes covering much of North Central B.C. The park lies in a transition area between the wetter Quesnel Highlands to the east, and the dry Chilcotin Plateau to the west, leading to a wide diversity of plant species. You can find white spruce, Douglas-fir, trembling aspen and lodgepole pine, while the forest floor is home to shrubs like red osier dogwood and saskatoon. Flowers, trees and shrubs are part of the park’s natural heritage, please don’t damage or remove them.
- Wildlife: Walk the Beaver Pond trail and view a beaver lodge and series of beaver dams. Ducks Unlimited has placed waterfowl nesting boxes and platforms around the beaver pond.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.